Austrian court overturns ex-chancellor Kurz’s perjury conviction

A court in Vienna overturned the conviction of Sebastian Kurz, the country’s former chancellor and fallen conservative star, for making false statements to a parliamentary investigatory committee.

Kurz had received an eight-month suspended prison sentence last year on the charge he deceived parliament under oath during a 2020 investigation into corruption allegations involving his government.

Kurz led the center-right Austrian People’s Party to victory in 2017 and in 2019, but was forced to resign as chancellor in October 2021 amid a flurry of accusations of corruption.

The verdict is an important victory for Kurz, whose possible return to Austrian politics is the subject of much speculation in the country.

This story is being updated.